In the chapter on "Incidents of the Pacific Voyage," written by Eugene R. Hendrix, D. D., in his "Around the World," a volume of 600 pages, with an introduction by the late Bishop Marvin, of the Methodist Church, he relates the method by which, and shows the necessity of, "dropping a day" in crossing the Pacific Ocean from east to west. He says:—
"On Friday, November 17, at noon the bulletin announced our longitude as 177° 19' west. In the afternoon one could see, by the frequent visits to the barber-shop, that something unusual was about to happen. The next day was Sunday, the 19th, and Saturday, the 18th, was dropped, or set down as a dies non. We had in the meantime crossed the meridian, or one hundred and eightieth degree, and the next announcement on the bulletin was longitude 179° 19' east. The gong sounded at half past ten o'clock for Sunday service, and we assembled in the social hall to listen to an instructive sermon by Bishop Marvin on the "Corn of Wheat." Thus was the Jewish Sabbath once more superseded by the first day of the week. With all on board it was a profitable day. It was still Saturday with our friends in America, but we are now on the other side of the world, and hence we conformed to the Sabbath being observed by the followers of Jesus in Japan, China, India, and the East generally. Of what minor consequence is the mere day of the week observed, so that we consecrate one day to be a Sabbath unto the Lord! Had we gone on observing the same day without dropping one, we should find on getting back to America that we were keeping Monday in place of Sunday.
"Perhaps the necessity for dropping a day will be made more clear to some minds by a simple illustration: Mrs. ——, of Hongkong, one of our lady passengers, concluded on leaving New York not to change her watch during the voyage. On reaching San Francisco her watch was three hours and ten minutes fast; on reaching the one hundred and eightieth degree it was seven hours fast—that is, while the ship's clock said 9 A. M. her watch said 4 P. M. Had she started from Greenwich, England, in place of New York, it would be twelve hours fast in place of seven; so that while it would be 9 P. M. by the ship's time, it would be 9 A. M. the following day by hers. By the time she reached Hongkong her watch would be over sixteen hours faster than local time there, and on getting back to Greenwich it would have gained twenty-four hours, or a whole day. To avoid confusion, this extra day is by common consent dropped on crossing the meridian going west. The ship's time is altered every day to correspond with the time ascertained at eight o'clock every morning. We thus put the clock back about fifteen minutes daily, and finally make the calendar correspond. Coming east, on the other hand, the clock has to be put forward every day and the calendar is made to correspond by adding a day. Thus, if the ship crosses the meridian on Sunday, the next day is Sunday also. It is 11 A. M. Monday, November 20, as we write these lines, while with our friends in Missouri it is 5 P. M. Sunday, November 19. We hope that they have spent a delightful Sabbath thus far, and that they will be profited by the evening services in their sanctuaries."
Query 1 arises in our mind as we read the above, as follows: If the "Jewish Sabbath" was superseded by the "first day of the week" by crossing the day line, or 180° west longitude, on Friday, as they journeyed westward, if their ship had crossed the meridian one day later, or on Saturday, would not the first day of the week in that case have been superseded by Monday? And Query 2 then arises: Would that ship's crew and passengers have had any Sunday on which the Bishop could preach? They would not. Then 3d: If the definite day is of "minor consequence," is it of any consequence whether we have a day to consecrate to the Lord or not? 4th: If one day in seven is all that the decalogue requires, then did the passengers on board that ship, on that occasion, meet the demand of the law by "dropping" the seventh day, thus reducing that week, with them, to only six days in length? 5th: Had these tourists been going east instead of west, would they not have carried with them to China, Japan, India, and the East generally, the same Sabbath-day that they were keeping when they left Missouri? and would they not also have been observing the same day that the followers of Jesus were observing on the other side of the world? They certainly would. Why? Because they could not add a day to their reckoning till they had reached the one hundred and eightieth degree of longitude east from Greenwich. 6th: Finally, if they should reach the one hundred and eightieth degree east and cross it on Sunday, by "adding a day," the following day would be Sunday also. Then would not two Sundays, without any intervening days between them, have to be kept by those on board the ship? And would it not be an utter impossibility for them to observe one day in seven, when they would be compelled to observe two?
In the providence of God it is demonstrated again and again that a "seventh part of time" cannot be kept, while the stubborn fact exists that only a definite seventh day can be observed in a round world.
Conversation on the Advent.
By E. P. Marvin
Inquirer. I want to ask you a few questions about this new doctrine of the Lord's coming.
Pastor. You will find it a very old doctrine. "Enoch the seventh from Adam" was a millenarian (Jude 14, 15), and the New Testament refers to the subject more than three hundred times. A large part of the church in all ages have been looking and longing for "His appearing." Mr. Whitby's theory of an invisible kingdom and reign is a modern novelty, as he himself confesses it "a new hypothesis." The primitive faith was revived in the 16th century and this primitive hope is being revived now.
I. Do you understand "the coming of the Lord" and similar expressions in the New Testament to signify a personal and visible coming.
P. Certainly. The language clearly means this and sound exegesis requires it, just as unmistakably as with reference to his first appearing. Why, for example, should we understand Luke 1:1 in a literal sense, and the next two verses in a spiritual sense? We insist that the phrases referred to never mean death, a revival, or a signal providence, but that they mean what they say and say what they mean. We are nowhere in the New Testament taught to put the coming of the king of terror in the place of the coming of the King of glory. Death is an enemy to be destroyed (1 Cor. 15:25). We are nowhere in the New Testament taught to watch for the coming of our great enemy, but for the coming of our great Friend. Do you "love the appearing" of death? 2 Tim. 4:8. Do you pray for the coming of death? Rev. 22:20.
I. What is the use of his personal and visible coming? If it was expedient for him to go away and send the Spirit, why not expedient for him to stay away?
P. We do not receive this doctrine from human reasonings, nor do we explain it thereby. Theological professors write columns against us without using one Scripture text, but we mean to appeal constantly to the Book. We are witnesses and heralds, not debaters and apologists. We are sent to "preach the word" in the power of the Holy Ghost, rather than to prove it by reasoning. We prefer the method of D. L. Moody to that of Joseph Cook. If you will give yourself to the diligent, candid, and prayerful study of the word, we think you will find assurances of this doctrine, and reasons enough why it is as expedient for Christ to return as for him to go away.
I. But is it not really improbable that God should cut off a nation like ours at the very beginning of such a brilliant career of civilization?
P. He has done so many times before. He did not wait for great Babylon to still further aggrandize herself, and he will not wait for our proud career of progress and development. God cares little for any brilliant material and earthly civilization like ours. He prizes moral and spiritual worth far above all that is merely material or intellectual. He does not smile upon inventions to abridge labor and annihilate time and space, when they become "the mechanics of depravity." He does not prize the intellectual creations of gifted servants of the devil as we do. "The civilization of the nineteenth century" does not glorify God but men, and judgment will not stay for its progress. Remember that the world is yet to be called to account for the crucifixion and rejection of the Son of God.
I. Well it seems to me that if your belief is true, Christianity and the Holy Ghost are a failure.
P. By no means. Man is always a failure, more or less, but God and his truth never. God is accomplishing just what he proposed and promised in this dispensation (Acts 16:13-17). He does not stake his truth on its prevalence in this dispensation, and men's unbelief does not make it of none effect. Any infidel with the Bible in hand can show you that the conversion of the world in this dispensation would be the positive refutation of Christianity; and you can show any infidel that the history of Christianity in the world has exactly accorded with the predictions of Christ and the apostles. If Christianity had promised the conversion of the world, it might be called a failure.
I. But does not your view discourage and paralyze missionary zeal?
P. Not when rightly understood, but it stimulates it. Mr. Beecher told Mr. Moody that if he believed as he did he should do as he did. The317command and love of Christ and the love of souls, rather than the hope of immediate and vain-glorious success, must constrain us. Those who expect to make the conquest of the world must anticipate centuries of superhuman effort, in which generations of untold millions are swept into a hopeless eternity. We look for Christ's instant appearing to cut short the work in righteousness. The chief end of God in this world is to exalt his Son in visible majesty over a new creation, and we are stimulated by the nearing prospect. We watch, work, occupy till he comes, as taught in the parables. If the church was to triumph and reign in this dispensation, why has not Christ and the apostles given us some promise or prophecy of it? Why does every promise and prophecy concerning her career contradict it? Read for yourself. The Apostolic Church looked constantly for Christ's return, and they were a band of faithful witnesses and unequalled missionaries. Nearly all the evangelists, many foreign missionaries, and most of the hard-working and self-denying workers of the church to-day look for his appearing.
I. Is the world then growing worse?
P. Let Christ answer in Matt. 24:37-39, and Paul in 2 Tim. 3:1-8. Compare such predictions with the present condition of the church and the world and note the correspondence. If the great plague-spots came in upon our cities when there was more earnest Puritanic faith and faithfulness than now, how do you expect them to be removed? The most marvelous faith under the sun is that of the world's conversion by present agencies, without a promise of revelation or a sign of the times to warrant it. Can you believe that the Christian faith is increasing and that moral evils are diminishing among the masses?
I. If your doctrine is true why do so many ministers and churches disbelieve or oppose it.
P. It costs dearly to hold and preach it. The instinct of bread and butter and the ambition of place and popularity, wherever they exist, are opposed to it. It humbles human pride and separates from the world. It is closely connected with the radical and mortifying doctrines. More ministers believe it than preach it. Some find it convenient "not to know much of it, nor to see any great importance in it." They tell us that "men who ride that hobby ride out of their pulpits," which is often true. But God says: "These things speak" (Titus 2:11-15) and men who shut their eyes to the clear testimony now being given on this subject, will suffer a blight on their ministry. The lax, lukewarm, and pleasure-loving church is coquetting with the world and does not want to see the Lord.
I. Is your doctrine gaining ground?
P. Yes, among the pious and diligent students of the Word. It will never be popular. There will always be three prophetic classes: the scoffer (2 Pet. 3:4); the evil servant who puts it off (Luke 12:45); and the watchful, working, and waiting believer (Rev. 22:20). The last class will be the smallest, the men of the girdle and the lamp.
I. Well, suppose it to be true, and of what practical use is the doctrine?
P. It would require a volume to answer that question. Go to the New Testament and you will find it connected with every doctrine and every duty of Christianity. It is there used for every possible purpose concerning the saved and the unsaved. Almost all lines of gospel truth lead us to the foot of the cross or to the foot of the throne. You may easily see the wakeful, stimulating, and salutary influence of a lively belief in the imminence of the Lord's coming, and especially as we draw nearer and nearer the end of the age. It is "supper time" and we are to go out with the closing appeals.
And now, my brother, in closing let me ask: Since we come with open Bibles and unfold, or profess to unfold, this doctrine from them, why are we not met by post-millennial Bible readers and refuted? Let a Bible conference be called, and we will listen to hear them prove from the word: (1) That in the New Testament, expressions like "the coming of the Lord," often mean death, a revival, or a signal providence. (2) That the church is commissioned and empowered to convert the world in this dispensation; and (3) That Christ will not come personally for at least a thousand years.—E. P. Marvin.
The Unfathomable Love of Christ
The love of Christ is like the blue sky into which you may see clearly, but the real vastness of which you cannot measure. It is like the sea, into whose bosom you can look a little way, but its depths are unfathomable.
Choosing Labor.
By W. N. Glenn
BY W. N. GLENN.
It is one thing to know what the Lord would have us to do, and another thing to go right ahead in the performance of the required duty. Even in the ready and submissive Paul, we find one instance of a desire to labor in a field of his own choosing. On his return from Damascus to Jerusalem, he was very anxious to preach there; it was quite natural that he should wish to counteract some of the evil influences of his former course in that city. But the Lord had designed something else for him, and told him, while in a trance in the temple, to "make haste" and get away, for the people of Jerusalem would not hear his testimony. Still Paul thought he could accomplish something there, and the reasons he advanced for thinking so were among the very reasons why he could not labor to advantage in that city.
And right here is one of the deceptions that Satan would play upon God's people in these last days—especially upon the young. There is great anxiety to engage in the work, but there comes with it the desire to choose that which appears more compatible with their own feelings. There is often an unwillingness to be governed by the judgment of the more experienced, or even the testimony of the Spirit, selfish motives or self-esteem, or the counsel of the inexperienced deciding the course of action. The question, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" is too often supplanted by "Lord, I want to do thus and so."
Again, it often occurs that when the right course has been undertaken, results are expected before a proper experience in the labor has been attained, and discouragement arises. A desire to change and enter some other branch of service takes hold of the mind. Dissatisfaction in the present position, through lack of perseverance, and visions of great things to be accomplished in another field, with perhaps the ever-ready incompetent advice, again decides the course to be pursued.
It is unnecessary to follow up the sequel to such a course of labor. A casual glance will reveal the end of such efforts. Suffice it to say that the professed servant of God who insists upon choosing his own field under all circumstances, or who expects to reap before he has sown, or aspires to leadership before having learned to be led, will in the end prove to have been in reality a servant of Satan. Had Paul persisted in a determination to be his own adviser as to how and where he would labor, he would no doubt have lost his life early in the race, as also his honorable place in the history of the church. He could not have wound up his earthly career with the satisfaction of having "fought the good fight." But Paul yielded, and suffered himself to be led, not only in labor, but to prison, to scourgings, and to death. So any who would succeed in the vineyard of the Lord must be servants and not masters—not even master of self—doing the will of him who "bought us with a price."
WARNING WORDS.
By Dean of Carlisle
To my judgment the great peril of the day is compromise, amalgamation and suppression of truth by mutual consent; a plausible but insincere union and co-operation not merely with known, avowed and shameless conspirators and traitors, but with Sacramentalists, Sacerdotalists and Nothingarians, who are all smiles and beaming piety, but who in heart hate the doctrine of justification by faith, who ignore the works of the Spirit, the conversion of the soul by grace, and such like grand and fundamental truths. Neither the pope nor the infidel would make such havoc among us if the little band of faithful men would come out and be separate! Our most dangerous foes are not the decorative and monastic ritualist, nor the loud-barking atheist or skeptic; but the plausible, courteous, affiliating, “dearly-beloved-brethren,” who would knit all the so-called churches in one patchwork quilt, which might cover them in a soft and downy bed of spiritual sleep, leaving them to dream of security and charity, while the noxious errors which prevail among them are eating out the vitals of true godliness, spiritual experience and sound doctrine.—Dean of Carlisle.
The Anchor of Hope
The anchor of hope must be joined to the cable of faith to be of any service to the soul.
Professor Gardner on Hard Times.
By Editor
[We have no great liking for the current mutilations of language, but there is a lesson in the following talk of the "Professor" which many a white man might learn to his profit.]
As I was walking out in the back yard, began Bro. Gardner, "Mister Darius Green, the white man, came along, and there was a powerful sad look on his face az he leaned over the fence and said:—
" 'Misser Gardner, this sufferin haz get to come to a cease!' "
" 'Haz ye got the shakes and chills?' I axed.
" 'Wuss dan dat, Misser Gardner. Ize working all de long week for ten shillin' a day, an whar de money goes I can't tell. De ole woman wants new clothes, de chillin wants dis an' dat, de rent runs behin', an' Ize gettin' desprit.' "
" 'Sho! now let's make some figgers on de fence,' I tole him. 'Now den you chew 'terbaccer?' "
" 'Yes, I chew 'bout ten cents worf a day.' "
" 'Dat's seventy cents a week. An' you drink lager?' "
" 'Well, of course I drink a glass now and den—maybe fifteen glasses a week.' "
" 'Dat's seventy-five cents moah, sah—What d'ye do on Sundays!' "
" 'Oh, go up to de beer garden.' "
" 'An' you spen' a dollar at least?' "
" 'I guess so—may be two of 'em.' "
" 'Say twelve shillin's an' dat makes two dollars an' ninety-five cents per week. I reckon you frow away at least free dollars ebery week, sah.' "
" 'Frow it away?' "
" 'Yes sah. Dat money would pay your rent an' buy your flour.' "
" 'But a fellar must have some comfort.' "
" 'De same, sah. De greatest comfort in de world am to see de rent paid up, de table loaded down, an' de ole woman able to go to church. You frow away free dollars ebery week, sah, an' den you go roun' cussin' de times, de wedder, an' de man who hez saved his money.' "
" 'Gem'len, dat white man called me an ole black fool an' a dog stealer, but dat didn' alter de case a bit. He is frowin' away one-third of his weekly wages, an' den blowin' round dat he's gettin' desperit an' am ready to head a riot. Doan' let me heah eny member o' dis club spinnin' dat yarn, case if he does dars gwine to be a committee ob investigashun an' dat committee won't whitewash wof a cent?' "—Detroit Free Press.
LITTLE THINGS.
One step and then another,
And the longest walk is ended;
One stitch and then another,
And the largest rent is mended;
One brick upon another,
And the highest wall is made;
One flake upon another,
And the deepest snow is laid.
So the little coral workers,
By their slow but constant motion,
Have built those pretty islands,
In the distant dark blue ocean;
And the noblest undertakings
Man's wisdom hath conceived,
By oft-repeated effort
Have been patiently achieved.
Little—'tis a little word,
But much may in it dwell;
Then let a warning voice be heard,
And learn the lesson well;
The way to ruin thus begins,
Down, down, like easy stairs;
If conscience suffers little sins,
Soon larger ones it bears.
A little theft, a small deceit,
Too often leads to more;
'Tis hard at first, but tempts the feet,
As through an open door.
Just as the broadest rivers run
From small and distant springs,
The greatest crimes that men have done
Have grown from little things.
--Selected.
How to Treat Sorrow.
SORROW comes into our lives like a visitor into our dwellings. How shall we treat the visitor? Shall we pay her every attention, or no attention? Shall the machinery of life be stopped altogether, and the operators stand still, making of her presence an interruption and an injury? Or shall she be treated as if she were not—no room made for her, no heed paid to her, no lesson learned from her? We treat no proper guest in either of these ways. We receive her and honor her, and minister to her, but home remains home, and life goes on, and we try to get good out of our friend's coming and staying. So sorrow comes at our heavenly Father's bidding, not to be ignored on the one hand, not to be supreme on the other, but to take up a disciplining and sanctifying abode with us. She comes not as an intruder to be driven out, not as a sovereign to take possession, but as a companion, whose daily intercourse is to purify and soften everything it touches, and who, when her mission is accomplished, will silently depart, leaving the blessing of her presence behind her.—Selected.
Only Pray.
IF a little child should come up to its father and commence addressing him thus: "O father, I acknowledge thee to be my parent—very strong, exceedingly wise, wondrously good; thou ownest all this house and rulest thy family with equity; thou hast brought me up from infancy, furnished my food and clothing," etc.; and, finally, after going on, thus, telling his father what he was and what he had done, could do and would do, to the extent of about ten minutes or more, would end by asking for a penny—that child would be very likely to have its ears boxed. And it can be nothing but the infinite grace and long-suffering of our Father in Heaven that saves some of the long-winded, pompous, theological propounders of prayer, that are frequently heard from pulpit and pew, from receiving merited rebuke and chastisement from him. It can be nothing else. Therefore, when you pray, do not air your theology, do not display your oratory, do not do anything else than pray.—Moravian.
A Paying Harvest.
HERE is a sermon in a nutshell. It is the testimony of a faithful wife and mother, and speaks volumes to thousands: “I devoted myself to the charge of my nursery; I attended in person to the physical and mental needs of my young children. The work was laborious, but it has repaid me. They are healthy, brave, honest, and frank; they are cursed with none of the small vices contracted by intercourse with persons of inferior intelligence, and they are self-sustaining at an early period. Neither pert nor precocious, they ripen early to judgment and common sense, and I believe that the careful tillage of my own little field has produced a harvest worth the labor.” Careful training will tell on ages, tell for God.—Conference Worker.
Speaking Behind Another’s Back
By John Newton
I WAS once in a large company where very severe things were spoken of an absent gentleman, when a person seasonably observed that though the Lord was pleased to effect conversion and edification by a variety of means, he had never known anybody convinced of error by what was said behind his back.—John Newton.
The Favor of the Great
The favor of the great, learned, and powerful, is no proof that we are in the right, nor their frowns that we are in the wrong.
“Occupy till I Come.”
WHEN the Adventists believed that the Lord would come in 1844, many of them, in all Christian honesty and sincerity, showed their faith by their works; they sacrificed their earthly possessions to advance the cause which was so dear to their hearts, and to warn their fellow-men of coming judgments upon the world. This was the only course, consistent with their faith, they could pursue. That they were disappointed does not argue that their course was wrong, any more than Jonah’s disappointment argues that he was wrong in preaching the destruction of Nineveh, or that the disappointment of the disciples of Jesus proves that they were wrong in heralding his entry into Jerusalem as a king, with shouts of triumph and with palm branches. They fulfilled the prophecy; but they did not anticipate their great disappointment. Had they known he was so soon to be crucified they never would have shouted in triumph as they did. Then the prophecy of Zechariah would not have been fulfilled unless indeed the stones had cried out, as Jesus said they would, for the Scriptures must be fulfilled—they cannot be broken.
It is not our purpose in this article to show—but it can be shown—that a like disappointment was contemplated in the proclamation of “the hour of his judgment is come.” Rev. 14 : 6, 7. The disciples associated his entry into Jerusalem with his coronation; the Adventists associated the hour of the judgment with his second coming. Both were right far enough to fulfill the prophecy, and thus to do the will of God. But before Christ’s coronation he must go into Jerusalem and suffer; and before his coming in glory the judgment must sit, and two other messages must be given after the judgment message. See Rev. 14 : 6-14. This message of “time” was sweet to their taste, but it was followed with disappointment—it was bitter when eaten. Rev. 10.
But some who were not Adventists, or not so consistent in their faith if they professed that faith, “willing to justify themselves,” accused the faithful ones of doing a great wrong. They should not have “sold their possessions” to advance the cause, but kept them until the Lord came, for the Saviour himself said “Occupy till I come.”
And more strange than this, we are informed that some Seventh-day Adventists now use those words of the Saviour in the same manner. They cannot help the cause of God without decreasing their possessions; and they dare not decrease their possessions because the Lord says, “Occupy till I come.”
But did the Saviour speak this of worldly goods? If not, then they only pervert his words. If he did, then we may substitute our goods for the word “talents,” and make a harmony of the Scriptures. He is the most faithful servant who makes one talent increase to ten talents. Here is a farmer; he has five hundred acres of land. By close calculation, and hard labor, and giving nothing to the cause of God, he has added farm to farm, until his five hundred acres have grown into five thousand. He has ever kept in view the text, “Occupy till I come.” And when the Saviour comes he says, “Lord, thy farm hath gained ten farms!” And the Lord answers, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” What a happy day that would be for Lux & Miller of California, who count their acres by tens of thousands. Other property would be the same. Here is a man converted who is in possession of a quantity of railroad stock. He, too, must “occupy” till the Lord comes. He is successful in “dealing.” And at the time of the advent he can say, “Lord, each share of thy stock has gained ten shares.” And the Lord appoints him to rule over ten cities! What a happy day that would be for Stanford, and Huntington, and Gould, and Vanderbilt. It is indeed true that they who possess large amounts of railroad stock rule over cities and States in this world, but it does not so well appear that it will give them a like rule in the world to come.
And our worldly professors must remember that it is not enough to “occupy” their farms, their stores, and their stocks; they must increase them. The man who received one talent and returned but one, was condemned as unfaithful. According to their version of the gospel, if the Lord gives them one farm, and they have no more than one at his return they will be condemned as wicked servants. And then, woe to “the poor of this world,” who have no farms at all!
Now in all seriousness we ask, Is it possible that any professed follower of Jesus (who had not where to lay his head) can be so blinded by “the god of this world,” as to honestly believe that that is what the Saviour means in this parable? Do they sincerely believe that Christ taught that the service of mammon is the way to exaltation in his kingdom? It is humiliating to think that they have read the Bible to so little purpose as thus to pervert the words of their Lord.
A talent which the Lord intrusts to his servants is that which may be used and increased to his glory, and to the upbuilding of his cause. To one is imparted ability to preach, another to write, another to work as a missionary, another to labor with his hands, but each and all to serve the interests of his cause. These all increase with use, and all may be made to glorify God in the work of the gospel. And this is true of all which is given us of Heaven; but all may be used to minister to our worldliness and selfishness, and then they become curses instead of blessings.
And what are the teachings of the Lord in reference to earthly possessions? He says we cannot serve God and mammon. Can our friends understand this text? He says if any man love the things of the world the love of the Father is not in him. He calls upon the rich men to weep and howl for the miseries that shall come upon them. He says he has chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, heirs of his kingdom. And he speaks especially to those who wait for their Lord when he shall return from the wedding, saying, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the Heavens which faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Luke 12 : 29-37. And the apostle exhorts his fellow-laborer to withdraw himself from those who suppose that gain is godliness. 1 Tim. 6 : 5.
We pray that the eyes of the deceived may be opened, that they may realize what is the faith of the gospel, and “cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord.”
“Speculation.”
By Editor
THIS cry has followed the earnest workers in the cause of the Third Angel’s Message ever since we have been acquainted with it, which is more than thirty years. We do not like to notice the evil and groundless reports raised against our associates; but when they succeed in injuring their influence for good, and crippling their efforts to help the cause, we consider it our duty to arrest the evil for the truth’s sake.
As a sample of these reports, we now notice one which is being circulated about our efficient and devoted fellow-laborer in this office, Bro. C. H. Jones. It is said that he came here poor; that he has purchased a fine residence; and that it is nicely furnished; and that they do not know where their tithes go. A few simple facts will set this matter right. And any wishing to know the facts could have had them at any time, and saved themselves the wrong of violating the ninth commandment.
1. They can find where every cent of the tithes has gone by applying to the Conference Secretary and Treasurer. Not a cent of it has ever gone to pay expenses in the office, or to any individual in the office. So strictly is this true that we have received no pay from the Treasury (nor from any other source) for the preaching we have done in California since our connection with the SIGNS office in 1878. The tithes have gone to those in the employ of the Conference and to no others. In our case we except those weeks when we have been absent from the office at camp-meetings.
2. Bro. Jones came to Oakland with $400. He has now been here four years.
3. He purchased a place recently on which he paid down $800—all the money he possessed.
4. He has labored exceedingly hard, to a great extent depriving himself of the benefit and pleasure of evening meetings, devoting all his energies to the interests of the office.
5. Considerable of the time Sister Jones has also worked for the office, being our most reliable proof-reader.
6. By this hard labor they have saved about $100 a year! a sum which most of those who talk about his circumstances would spurn with contempt as the avails of a year’s labor.
7. While those who instigate this talk choose their own methods and means of making money, and choose those which bring them the greatest gains, we know that Bro. Jones could command much larger compensation for his skill, experience, and faithfulness, in other places. But he chooses to labor here for the sake of the cause which we are here trying to advance.
8. Although he has paid less than one-fifth of the price of his residence, and pays interest on the remainder, it is a profitable investment both to himself and to the office. For (1) He bought on very favorable terms, so that the interest he pays is considerable less than rent in the same neighborhood. (2) He is near the office, where he could not afford to rent sufficient room to well accommodate his family. And (3) He has the advantage of a permanent residence, close to his work, which he could not secure by renting.
Now we must add one painful truth, namely: many of those who do this kind of talk are people who could buy his residence, pay down in full, and not suffer any inconvenience from the outlay!
And to some we can answer the question they propose: Where do their tithes go? They mostly go where they do not belong, namely, into their own pockets, to be used to advance their own worldly interests, and to be burned up when the day of the Lord comes.
We do not believe there is any class of people connected with this or any other good cause who labor as hard with as limited compensation as they who bear the burdens of our publishing work.